We all have our demons
by SilverFlameWolf
Summary: Rin x Reader. As a part-time help in the church you eventually meet Rin under extreme circumstances and he takes a liking to you.
1. The warmth of kindness

The water scalded your hands, but you dunked the cloth into the hot soapy bucket again and again, making sure the gravestones were kept in perfect condition. You respected every single grave and took care of them lovingly. Making up heroic stories in your mind using the names engraved into the heavy stones, hours easily passed by.

Here and there you'd have a chat with a visitor. Be their shoulder when they cried or smile with them when stories were shared. Life was simple the way you lived it, and you liked it. You were a simple girl from a simple home earning some money with an after-school job at the church. It wasn't a real big job, just some chores. Cleaning, helping putting benches and chairs ready for weddings and masses, just being there for the priests. You didn't mind. Today the chore was giving the gravestones a scrub. Luckily the graveyard wasn't a big one and there weren't a lot of big gravestones that took a lot of time to clean. Humming songs you worked with the sun on your back and a smile on your face.

One grave in particular was your favorite; a tall stone that looked like a cross, standing on a square block. It was a fairly new grave considering some in the graveyard were hundreds of years old. On it stood clearly "Shiro Fujimoto" in a bold, white font. This was your favorite, because on occasion, this particular grave was visited. Which doesn't seem weird, but it was visited by a small, two-tailed cat.  
It would cry at times. Take naps on the soil. Wind, rain, thunder, nothing stopped the cat from visiting the grave more often than any human did. It seemed to be so protective of the stone.

You enjoyed giving it snacks and it seemed to appreciate you taking care of, what you thought, was its previous owner's gravestone. The small animal seemed so knowledgeable. On its collar shone the same pendant Shiro had embedded in his gravestone.

You had considered taking the cat in, but the priests of the church the graveyard belonged to specifically told you to leave it be, without any other reason given. You didn't mind at all. The occasional playtime you and the feline shared was enough for you.

You dropped the wet and dirty cloth into the cooled down water and stood up, sliding your arm across your forehead to wipe away the sweat. Putting a hand on your hip you looked proudly at the almost reflecting surfaces of the marble, granite and other polished stones. Next week they'd be treated to another scrub, you decided, and picked up the bucket.

Taking the bucket and cloth with you, you entered the church, welcoming the chatter of the priests and the smell of candle wax and polished wood. The dirty, muddy water found its way down the drain as you poured it out and placed the metal container on its proper place with a satisfying empty "clang". Walking to the kitchen to clean and put away the cloth you happily hummed a song.

"I've heard Yukio and Rin will be visiting for the anniversary of Shiro's death,"  
you heard a familiar voice say softly.

"Will they be staying in the church overnight?"  
a deeper voice asked in reply.

"I do believe so. We should prepare the proper safety measures.."

You slowly knocked and pushed open the door. It had been slightly ajar, allowing the voices through, and echo into the high ceiling of the church. The priests looked at you and instantly lit up.

"_, have you finished already? You're such a hard worker."  
the short, black-clad man complimented you. Blushing slightly, taken aback by the sweet words, you held up the dirty cloth.

"Just came here to clean and dry this, sirs, I'll be gone in just a minute."  
You smirked embarrassed. The three men looked at you and smiled widely. You knew they were very grateful to you for doing chores around the church for the small pay they offered you. You didn't really mind doing them anyway and the pay might have been little, it was spending money for you and it funded your hobby of collecting occult and alchemistic books. For a young girl you sure had a weird hobby.

You were quite curious though. Shiro's gravestone had not said he was a loving husband or father. The names Rin and Yukio sounded unfamiliar to you, too, even though you'd been tending to the previous head priests' grave for a couple of years now and heard tons of stories about him. The safety measures they were talking about, however, seemed over the top though. They were just visitors like both the church and the graveyard got plenty enough, right? Not a rampaging army. ..right?  
Deep in thought you rinsed and cleaned the cloth before draping it over the rack close to the heater.  
A tap on your shoulder made you jump.

"_?"  
The tall priest had been calling your name for a while already.  
"Would you like to help us clean the church's interior the day after tomorrow? I know it's on short notice, but we could use an extra hand. We did not expect any visitors. You're more than welcome to join us at the anniversary dinner. We see how you treat Shiro's grave and how kindly you handle Kuro. And the twins are about a year older than you, you might make friends!"

He smiled at you widely. You loved how they treated you as much as family as they would they own flesh and blood. Your alcoholic mom never did. She wasn't much of a bother, just not exactly there for you. If dad had never chosen to go to war for you and her, he'd probably still be alive. They told you he'd been killed by a demon, hence your decision to work for the church, even if just cleaning and maintaining. You believed their word for it. You knew demons existed, how to handle, summon and treat them and what their names were. You've read your fair share of literature.

You nodded.  
"Sure! I'd love to join for dinner too. To be honest I did not know Shiro had kids and I would love to meet them."  
you replied.

The short priest smiled at you and sighed deeply.  
"Shiro didn't have any kids."  
The man exited the small kitchen, leaving you behind feeling confused and full of questions, but considering the sun was already going down, you put on your coat and hurried out into the streets, quickly making your way home before nightfall.

The next day after school you returned to help. Humming to yourself you slammed two small, rough cotton pillows together that lay scattered on the church benches. Dust formed in a fog around you. It made you sneeze violently and you laughed. Your wide smile seemed to motivate the short priest outside to even more as he raked the pebbles. The sound of them scraping together sounded almost melodious together with your humming and it made the day seem much more brighter. Clouds packed in the sky, however, and you were sure that rain was going to fall in a matter of hours. You had to hurry to make the outside look proper enough for the visitors. Picking up a broomstick with a puffy end that looked like a pom-pom, you decided to give the spiders that made the church their home a scare and woosh their webs away. Can't have proper gravestones and an improper church.

A couple of dusty hours passed before the church looked as if it could start sparkling at any given moment. It smelled fresh and clean. Unlike you, who were covered in dust, string, cobwebs and other signs of places long not seen or cleaned.

"_! You can fresh yourself up here if you'd like. We don't live here, but we keep the place Shiro slept and lived clean for the twins, so if you'd like, you can take a shower there. Have you brought clean clothes?" one of the priests yelled through the church from the little kitchen.

Surprised, you smiled and nodded. Quickly realizing he wouldn't be able to see you from that distance, you yelled back "I'd appreciate that. I've brought a set of clean clothes, yes, I'm not fond of cleaning in my regular clothes!" and you laughed, making your way towards the priest to collect the key to the little living space.

Entering the small room you saw everything you'd expect in a house, just a tad bit smaller. A couch, a radio, several chairs. A weirdly out-of-place box of children's toys, considering Shiro didn't have any kids like the priests told you. You wondered if Shiro perhaps had adopted them.  
Opening a door you found a small bedroom with a single bed and a nightstand. A big cross adorned a wall. It was simple but it was all a bedroom needed to be. Another door. A slightly larger bedroom with a bunk bed. The bottom bunk had drawings on the wall. Two small desks stood against the wall facing a big window. The curtains were closed. The third door was the bathroom. It was larger than you expected it to be, with a toilet, a shower and a bathtub. The shower and bathtub weren't big, but trying the faucets you found there was hot water and you started undressing as the water reached a nice temperature. It was cold, just standing there in your undies, but since nobody lived there anymore, you shook it off as normal. Nobody had put a heater on in a while anyway.

The water was warm and pleasant on your skin. A bar of peach-scented soap lay ready to be used in a small container hung on the wall. While lathering yourself in bubbles you sang softly to yourself. The dirt that had gathered on your skin easily came off as you scrubbed yourself vigorously.

In the meantime, rain started falling on the freshly raked pebbles and the clean gravestones. The somber feeling the rain brought along didn't bother you at all in the silent bathroom that did not have any windows. The shower was loud enough for you to not be able to hear nature wash herself off, nor did you hear the church doors slam closed and rapid footsteps making their way towards the warm kitchen.


	2. A homecooked meal

As you turned off the faucet you quickly grabbed a fluffy towel that the priests had provided you with. The bathroom was filled with steam and the mirror had completely fogged up. You smiled at the blurry image it was making of your face. Drying yourself off you put on fresh clothes, consisting of a pair of socks, your favorite underwear, simple skinny jeans and that fancy top that you saved for special occasions. You made sure to look good for the dinner you were going to have with the priests and the twins, but not too fancy so you wouldn't look completely out of place. You figured since they were only a couple years older than you were there was no use in trying to perfect your look because they wouldn't really care anyway. Happy with the way your hair fell and your clothes looked, you folded up your dirty, dusty clothes and took them with you as you left the small house and locked the door behind you carefully, taking the beautifully ornate key with you.

The rain still poured and hammered on the windows. You only realized this as you were walking through the chapel where the stained glass endured the torrents of rain that were falling down on them. It seemed it was pitch black outside, but you shook it off as a play of the windows and the light.

Happy laughter and warm light flooded the kitchen, much unlike the gloomy, wet weather outside. The stove top burned and the short priest was cutting vegetables and meat as you entered. He smiled at you and put his knife down.

"You look beautiful as ever, _," he complimented you as he patted his hands down on his apron. "Cute as a button!"

Smiling tenderly you sat down at the table and picked up a peeler.  
"I wouldn't mind to help you prepare no matter how fancy," you said, a wide smile causing your face to glow with your radiant beauty. The priest happily accepted your offer as he sat down with you and continued cutting the slices of beef.

"What are we having?" you asked curiously as you looked across the table where a variety of vegetables were scattered.

The priest smiled brightly and pointed at a big earthen pot that stood on the stove, that caused a delicious smell to waft through the kitchen. "Sukiyaki!" he replied cheerfully. "It's Rin's favorite, and he's cooking for us tonight."

You looked up in surprise. You didn't know the visitors had arrived yet, nor had you ever heard of a guy that was good at cooking. Then again, home economics classes were for girls only and you didn't have many friends, so you'd never seen a guy cook besides the occasional house-dad from a window. "I do love sukiyaki," you smirked and handed the priest another peeled veggie to cut up. "I can't wait to taste it."

Meanwhile, two male voices were arguing who remembered the funniest anecdote about their past. A soft mewl accompanied their voices. You did not recognize the voices but you realized they were the twins, considering they were the only ones that were expected. The mewl threw you off guard though. Being the only one that really spent time with the cat, you recognized it as the twin-tailed cat that somehow regularly found it's way towards Shiro's grave. The small black and gray cat entered the kitchen and jumped on the table gracefully, smiling widely at the short priest as the man proceeded to pet the cute animal. It turned around and opened it's eyes wide as it looked at you but approached you without fear and rubbed it's furry head against your arm happily, asking for some attention.

"Kuro likes you, I see," a voice said. You looked up to meet the eyes of a long, gentle-looking boy, his short brown hair neatly combed and his glasses properly positioned on his elegant nose. A couple of birthmarks adorned his face in a unique and cute way.

"My name is Yukio. Yukio Okumura," he introduced himself as he offered his hand with a gentle smile. "I teach at the True Cross Academy."

You were impressed. The priests had told you he was only a couple years older than you were and you were still in school, how could he be a teacher already? You kept yourself from asking questions, and stood up.

"My name is _ _, I'm very pleased to meet you. I help out as a caretaker here after school," you introduced yourself as you shook his hand. Letting go, you wiped a strand of damp hair out of your face. Yukio smiled widely at you.  
"Very nice to make your acquaintance indeed," he replied as he sat down next to the short priest and started chatting with him animatedly. He seemed like a nice enough guy. He was calm and collected and you felt comfortable in his presence.

So the small cat had a name. Kuro. You liked it very much. It seemed to fit him very well. You scratched his ears playfully and played with him for a while. Suddenly the small animal jumped up and ran towards the door. The door swung open forcefully and revealed a boy with dark-blue hair and fierce eyes of the most radiant blue. His ears were pointed, which was weird, but it suited his eyes. He was wearing a hair clip. And an apron. It looked incredibly funny to you as you were not used to the sight of a boy wearing typically female attire. His stance was very powerful and his face sharp. The apron, however, had a peachy color and a colorful floral pattern. The femininity of it made a small laugh escape your lips. Luckily nobody had heard. In the meantime, Kuro had found his way to the boy's shoulder and meowed loudly. The boy looked at the cat and from the cat to you.

"_! My name's Rin Okumura! I've heard SO much about you!" he smiled as he came towards you, pointing at the cat. "Kuro absolutely loves you!"

The cat seemed to get flushed at those words as a confused look replaced your smile. You had no idea how Rin could have known your name. You had not mentioned it yet and Yukio had not talked to him. It seemed impossible the cat just told him. He didn't exactly seem to be an animal medium or something. Rin held out a hand that you gladly shook. His smile widened as he looked you straight into your eyes. Your confusion was once again replaced by your beautiful smile and you both let go.

As you wondered about the sudden changes in company and atmosphere, Rin made his way towards the earthen pot and started adding vegetables to the broth. The tall priest that had entered the kitchen after Rin opened a cupboard and started collecting cutlery and plates. You stood up and scraped the vegetable peelings and vegetable waste off the table, threw it away and cleaned the table quickly with a wet cloth. Yukio, seemingly tired, sat at the table with a smile as he followed your movements with his eyes. Rin was still messing with the pot and heartily adding seasonings, smiling widely and enjoying the smell that slowly filled the entire kitchen.

The table was already properly made, but Rin had not yet finished the sukiyaki dish you were looking very forward too. You sat on the chair the priests had assigned you and looked at him with interest. Never before had you seen a guy cooking so intensely as Rin was doing and you were fascinated by it. All of a sudden Rin turned around holding the big earthen pot with surprising ease.

"Who's ready for a yummy meal on a day this cold and dreary?" he asked no one in particular, putting the pot in the middle of the table and putting down a number of plates with sliced meat and bite-size pieces of vegetables. The many colors of edibles adorned the table as if it were decorated. You smiled at the sight of it and the intense pleasure Rin seemed to be taking in everyone being so impressed by his favorite dish. Everyone sat down at the table and collected their favorite vegetables and meats from the various plates. Delicious smells filled the kitchen as everyone's food was cooking. Chatting animatedly with Yukio and Rin you had a lot of fun, and the priests definitely noticed that, smiling at you and each other.

Outside, the rain was still pouring. Nobody expected what was about to happen on a night that was cheerful. Dark figures made their way towards the gate of the church, seemingly gathering there, but not able to cross the line between pavement and pebbles. As all had gathered, one stretched out a hand towards the church. In vibrant colors, formless holes started appearing around the church. Black, wet robes stuck to faces with evil grins as the group entered the church's entryway. Nobody expected them, but they were ready nonetheless.


	3. A troubled mind

The kitchen, filled with people smiling and eating was a warm and happy place to be. Random chatter filled the air as you all enjoyed warm, delicious food and good company. The rain pounding on the windows did not seem to bother you or the others at all, as the atmosphere in the small room seemed to expel all feelings of dread. Outside it had gotten darker and darker, and the sky illuminated with flashes of light from time to time. Slow rumbles were heard in the distance but it didn't bother you. You were content making new friends and chatting with the priests. The small cat seemed to enjoy his portion of meat and broth as he purred away with a big grin on his face, occasionally throwing a couple of meows towards Rin, to which he replied animatedly. It still seemed weird to you but it was nothing different from anyone owning and loving a pet. You smiled at Yukio, whom you were having an interesting conversation with about your small book collection, and he told you with vigor about his teachings and his students, and about how he'd been teaching since the first year his brother became a student.

Outside, the rain seemed to want to torrent onto the figures in their long black cloaks, clearly angry at their presence. The air seemed to quiver with anticipation and the warmth the day had left made the rain feel like a strange sensation on their exposed skin. They stood, watching the formless holes grow in size and slowly meet eachother until their colors faded and what seemed to be a force field had completely disappeared. Not a single one had yet stepped foot onto the raked white pebbles yet. Slowly, one stuck out a foot, and with a grinding noise, he placed it on the pebbles. For a few seconds, the ones standing behind him seemed ready to flee at any given moment, but nothing happened. A strange sigh of what sounded like relief was heard, and slowly and in silence the group made their way towards the church door.

Inside, the company was still unaware of the happenings. There lingering was the savory smell of the broth that was still happily bubbling away and the chatter had not eased even the slightest bit. A slight shiver made it's way down your spine, however, and you looked around, but did not seem at all worried and continued your dinner happily, enjoying the taste and the company you were enjoying it with. The small kitchen still felt like a safe haven and a comfortable place to be.

The hooded figures threw off their hoods to reveal angry glares on their faces. Horns adorned the sides of their heads in various shapes and colors. Smirks with sharp teeth lay on their faces and the air around them felt heavy and dense. The supposed leader, a large man with wide chest muscles and large horns protruding from his medium length black hair turned around to face the group and made hand signals that showed them their positions in perfect silence without raising any alarms. He licked his lips playfully with a long, sharp tongue and turned back around, slowly pulling his foot back. With a force incomprehensible to normal humans and a pink glow around his leg, the man kicked in the giant wooden doors that protected the inside of the church and it's visitors.

The pleasant atmosphere in the kitchen disappeared within less than a second. The table had jumped up with the sudden bang and hot broth spilled over the table and pieces of meat and vegetables scattered everywhere. The priests shared anxious looks and the two boys looked at each other. Rin, his face still stuffed with food, nodded at his brother and quickly gulped down what he still hadn't swallowed, not willing to let any of the delicious meal go to waste.  
"Rin!" Yukio yelled as he pulled his robe and belts from a close by coat hanger and pulled out a couple of black engraved pistols. "Let's finish this once and for all."  
Rin held a bright red cloth and you gasped as it slid off the sheath and hilt of a blade. How did these young men have weapons? You immediately felt incredibly worried and scared not knowing who entered the church while the boys seemed to know perfectly fine.  
"Stay here _ _!" Rin had yelled at you, shocked in your seat. You simply nodded. The blood had disappeared from your face and you were deathly pale as you were simply too scared to move. Your hands held the seat of the simple wooden chair that you sat on.

The leader of the small group threw off his hood and revealed tan skin and blazing red eyes. His accomplices followed his example and grinning faces with angry eyes showed themselves from behind the cover of the heavy cloth. The stone flooring of the church seemed to try to repel the group as they simply strode their way towards the altar, not expecting any kind of opposition from the measly priests now the only force able to stop them no longer inhabited the sacred building. Satan had been dead for a while. They all knew that.

Rin and Yukio ran from the kitchen, weapons at the ready, with the priests in tow. Holding wooden crosses and light coming from their fingertips. They were yelling incomprehensibly in Latin.  
"The seals have been broken! We have to protect this church we cannot afford to lose again!"  
Yukio pointed his pistols at the small group and snarled.  
The leader looked at the young man and bit his bottom lip, tilting his face and grinning. He did not see much of a challenge in him at all. After all, bullets could not harm him like they would a human body. As soon as Rin entered the main building, however, his smirk faded and his eyes widened. He was in presence of the only one they should honor; Satan's son and their young master. He had not expected to find him here as he and his demons had believed he was long dead.

"Astaroth!" the blue-haired male yelled through the building. "You've found yourself another body to torture?!" The silence afterwards was striking and his words echoed. The stranger pulled off his cloak to reveal a tail. He smiled again.  
"So I am recognized.." he spoke softly. His demons grinning and seemingly softly giggling in low, hushed tones. Rin snarled at the man. He had recognized him as Astaroth, the King of Rot, who had tried to maim him before. Who had fought him. Hurt him. Called his brother names. He would never forgive the foul man for his deeds. He was a demon after all. The few people faced each other in silence, waiting for someone to make the first move.

You were getting curious and the curiosity overwhelmed your fear quickly. You knew the name that was yelled from your books and wished to see what was going on. Slowly you stood up, trying your best to not make a noise and tiptoeing to the doorway. You peeked your head around the corner and just the smallest part of the top of your head could be seen. You gasped in terror as the man that you suspected to be the demon king looked you straight in the eye the moment your eyes could view the scene and he smirked the widest and creepiest smile you'd ever seen at you. You took a jagged breath but could not stop staring as if you'd been enchanted by the scenery. Seeing the horns that adorned the side of the demon's head you could not believe this was reality. It felt like you'd entered one of the many RPG's you loved to play instead of simply seeing who had interrupted the dinner party you were enjoying.

"Young master, have you brought me a mortal?" the demon snarled at Rin. "What a very kind gesture!"  
Rin, who had seemed kind and gentle when you met him, showed sharp teeth and seemed to be glowing. His sword was still sheathed but in his hands, ready to be used. Next to him, Yukio had his guns ready, in a battle-ready position and looked at the group through narrowed eyes. The demons, aside from the King, had not moved. Neither had the priests that stood behind the twins. It seemed like they were waiting for a signal or a sign. Neither group wanted to make the first move. Astaroth chuckled at Rin and summoned a ball of fire in his hand, playing with it like it was nothing more than an ordinary ball toy.

Yukio felt the tension in the air as he eyed his brother, who was on the edge of losing his temper. He did not like it when his older sibling did, as it was a strain on him and he still felt very responsible for the hothead.  
"Why are you here, Astaroth?" he asked in a reasonable tone. He did not show fear nor anger. Slowly, the demon turned to face the brown-haired man and his smile faded.  
"You still do not realize I wish to take the young master with me to rule his people?" he answered Yukio. "You foolish human. You're of no use to me!"  
In a sudden flare of anger he threw the fireball at the younger twin. This was the first move. Yukio emptied a magazine into the group, mainly aiming at the demon king. Strangely-tinted smoke filled the room partly. As it set, the group of demons had not yet moved. Rin looked at Yukio in shock and worry. Astaroth looked behind him and saw his followers hurt.  
"YOU! YOU FILTHY EXORCIST YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" his voice boomed through the room, reverberating off the ceiling. He immediately charged at the twins and their backup of priests. Stained black claws showed itself when he remove his other hand from under his robes.

"STAY BACK YOU PIECE OF DEMON FILTH!" Rin had yelled. The moment he unsheathed his sword you gasped in surprise. Blue fire engulfed the blue-haired teen, seemingly without hurting him or burning any of his clothes. His ears suddenly grew a lot longer and his teeth seemed to sharpen. You jolted back in sudden fear of him. Holding your back against the open door you breathed shallow and short breaths. Holding your hand clenched against your fist you wanted to run... but felt like you were needed here. Somehow, you felt the courage to breathe in a comfortable rhythm and simply wait until your signal.

Inside the holy place, demons, priests and exorcists battled an unholy fight. It seemed to come right out of a story or tale. The priests had taken up the responsibility of defeating the followers Astaroth had brought along. They weren't human, but they weren't possessed either. They did not seem to have offensive magical abilities so the priests did not have a lot of trouble defeating them. The short priest, however, had gotten hurt and the other two had taken him into the small kitchen that was shaking with the action going on outside. You still had your back against the wooden door, just barely out of sight. Saying nothing as they could see your fear the priests treated the short wounded ally and helped him onto a chair. They knew that Astaroth wasn't interested in them and would very likely leave them alone if they did not offer him a reason for their destruction. The short priest looked at you and gave you a reassuring smile with a sad look in his eyes, as if he'd seen this coming. You nodded and tried to crack a smile but the fear in your eyes showed him how afraid and unknowing you were. But you were determined to stay where you were, still feeling that incomprehensible feeling of being needed at some later point in time...


End file.
